High-fidelity rendering can be used to investigate Cultural Heritage (CH) sites in a scientifically rigorous manner. However, a high degree of realism in the reconstruction of a CH site can be misleading insofar as it can be seen to imply a high degree of certainty about the displayed scenewhich is frequently not the case, especially when investigating the past. So far, little effort has gone into adapting and formulating a Predictive Rendering pipeline for CH research applications. In this paper, we first discuss the goals and the workflow of CH reconstructions in general, as well as those of traditional Predictive Rendering. Based on this, we then propose a research framework for CH research, which we refer to as Cultural Heritage Predictive Rendering (CHPR). This is an extension to Predictive Rendering that introduces a temporal component and addresses uncertainty that is important for the scenes historical interpretation. To demonstrate these concepts, two example case studies are detailed.

Virtual reconstruction and representation of historical environments and objects have been of research interest for nearly two decades. Physically based and historically accurate illumination allows archaeologists and historians to authentically visualise a past environment to deduce new knowledge. This report reviews the current state of illuminating cultural heritage sites and objects using computer graphics for scientific, preservation and research purposes. We present the most noteworthy and up-to-date examples of reconstructions employing appropriate illumination models in object and image space, and in the visual perception domain. Finally, we also discuss the difficulties in rendering, documentation, validation and identify probable research challenges for the future. The report is aimed for researchers new to cultural heritage reconstruction who wish to learn about methods to illuminate the past.